Baby Girl!

So, I've called and talked to each of you about this, but I thought I'd post it too. We're having a GIRL! =) Yay! I will be the first one out of us to have a girl first, and I'm excited about it. I'm pretty sure that I told you about the little problem that we have too, but I'll tell you again. Apparently, umbilical cords are supposed to have three valves in them. However, I only have two valves. So, I'm being sent to a perinatologist to get another ultrasound done. The ultrasound technician said I shouldn't worry about it too much, that everything should be fine, but that I'll probably just be getting more ultrasounds than normal because of it, to keep an extra careful eye on the baby's progress. But other than that, our baby girl is perfectly healthy! We got to see her hands and arms and legs and...well, lots of stuff. =) We're trying to get all our pictures scanned to post on our site, so I'll keep you updated for that. Right now, just know that our baby girl is the most beautiful fetal baby that there ever was!

RE: QOTW

I must admit that my dreams are getting stranger and stranger as I've been pregnant. I don't remember many of them for very long, but when I get the chance, I'll tell Tyler about them while I'm still in the half-asleep, trying to wake myself up mode. I get the same kind of "waking" dreams that Keryn gets, the ones that are so real that you swear they really happened. The strangest dream that I've had lately, though, goes as follows: Tyler and I are renting a HUGE apartment that is attached to an even BIGGER house that the Calls' own (the Calls' are who we are renting from right now and they don't actually have this HUGE house). Anyway, the bathroom in our apartment has a few different showers and maybe five different bath tubs, all equipped with faucets that put different things in your tub (like the Prefect pool in Harry Potter, only slightly smaller...there are five, after all). We had just decided we needed to try a few of these bathtubs out when suddenly there were, literally, about twenty little girls (about 5 years old, maybe) running around. I could not get them to leave and I woke up so frustrated because I never got to try out the really cool baths. I was so disappointed. Oh well...

RE: QOTW

I know that I have REALLY weird dreams, but I can't usually remember them after the first ten-twenty minutes of being awake. But while I'm pregnant (which I'm not, just FYI. Sorry, Amber, you'll have to go it alone this time [end inside joke with Telima]), I don't sleep really soundly, and so I remember my dreams more clearly. I can't think of a specific one, but many times I have thought something really happened (from small, like Ezra's diaper getting changed, to big, like Jenafer telling me they were moving to another country, can't remember which one) that only happened in a dream. And then for days sometimes I have to remind myself that it didn't really happen. It can get confusing.

I have to tell you all something that happened last night. Brad fell asleep with the little laptop on his chest, and I was reading, on the big laptop, the latest chapter LaDale sent me. It was quite late, the room was dark, and the wind was picking up outside, so our back gate was occasionally banging and startling me. And the chapter was quite tense and exciting. Just when I got to a REALLY tense spot, Brad, dreaming, suddenly JERKS his hand up and bats the little computer onto the floor, just like he was getting a tarantula off his chest or something. (Or a hamster.)

I just about died, it startled me so bad. And then I laughed and laughed (quietly, because Brad went back to sleep almost immediately).

new qotw

Inspired completely by Keryn's alligator alley.
The new qotw is what is your weirdest or funniest dream that you can remember?

My dream was while i was pregnant with adam. {strange how those pregnancy hormones affect you}. I was about 4 months along. Close to finding out that he was a he. I dreamt that we went in for the ultra sound and the doctor found out that the baby{we still didn't know that he was a he yet} Adam wasn't getting any nutrition from me what so ever. So he had to go in and surgically remove Adam. Samuel or i had to constantly hold him and feed him by bottle until he grew enough to be the size he was supposed to be by 7th months along. When the doctor determined that Adam was the correct size I then had the surgery to put adam back inside me until it was time for me to go into labor {2 months later} and have him be born.

Talk about weird dreams!

well a few things

In my mission the UPS truck was actually nicknamed by us missionaries "The Brown Santa Claus". It seems that it's not so lucky for Jenafer. I remember you and Jeff having trouble with a watch i believe it was a few months ago with them. {while we were still staying with you}

KERYN'S DREAM. Telima and Tyler's zygote {hopefully today we will find out if it's a boy or girl}will be born weirdly enough on a rainy day in july. And then mom will buy it a stuffed alligator as it's new baby present to be completely random thus starting a new trend alligators are the new "teddy bears".

I give you one warning Telima and that is if you are walking around the mall in your 9th month trying to scoot labor along don't get stuck in the bathroom. I hear that can happen sometimes.

Insanity and the UPS truck

well, I think that I shall go very noisily insane and take out a UPS truck or two with me. I am waiting for a package, again. It was supposed to be delivered on Friday, so I sat at home from 8 am to 7 pm and Jeff missed the blue and gold banquet, it didn't come. On Monday, we got a call from them, they are so sorry they didn't get to us on Friday, but the package will be delivered on Monday. So, once again, I waited at home from 8 am to 7 pm, again, no package. This morning I called and royally chewed out these people, I may be a stay at home mother, but that dosen't mean I can stay home for days on end waiting for a truck that never comes! They at least gave me a little tighter estimate for today, somewhere around 10:30 or 11:00. I really hope they come because I have several hours of erands to run and I have to pick up kids at 2:45!

Re: BOOKS and other stuff

LaDale, I love that! I think I've read it before too, because it sounded vaguely familiar, but I laughed so hard reading it again.

Thank you all for your support in this Mary Kay thing. I made $200 in two days and got a new team member in the last weekend so I'm feeling pretty good about it all. Tyler and I come up with new things every day that I should do to have even more success with it. The latest thing that we've done is I've signed up for my own Mary Kay website: www.marykay.com/telima_smith. This means as soon as I figure out how to do it, I can have people host web parties for me. I'm hoping to figure this all out in the next day or two so I can start using it immediately.

Keryn, I have NO idea what your dream was about...maybe you are pregnant. Amber is, so that would fall right about the same time, right? =) And since you guys seem to always be pregnant at the same time and have your babies only 4 days apart, it would follow that you would be pregnant now...just kidding. I know you're not quite ready again to have another baby, so I won't wish it on you. I just thought that would be so hilarious.

I love you all so much! Have a wonderful day!

Re: BOOK's

I think I have read that before but it still is great to read it again. The BOOK's that I seem to use at school must be high tech as they cost me so much each semester. I buy them only to discover they are only partially compatible with my server, the professor, who wishes to cover topics both in the BOOK and not in the BOOK. Oh well. Life goes on, as they say.

Major Technological Break Through

The following is a tad long, but I was going through some boxes and came across this. Daddy sent it my way many years ago, probably not long after be himself received it and I enjoyed it so much I kept it. Now, finding it again, I enjoy it again and thought about passing it along to you. I hope this isn't illegal. It's did not have a author, so I attributed it to what information I had. Here goes- Enjoy.

Introducing the new Bio-Optic Organizes Knowledge Device, trade name BOOK. BOOK is a revolutionary breakthrough in technology: no wires, no electric circuits, no batteries, nothing to be connected or switched on. It’s so easy to use even a child can operate it.
Compact and portable, it can be used everywhere- even sitting in an arm chair by the fire- yet it is powerful enough to hold as much information as a CD-ROM disc. Here’s how it words: BOOK is constructed of sequentially numbered sheets of recyclable paper, each capable of holding thousands of bits of information. The pages are locked together with a custom-fitted device called a binder which keeps the sheets in their correct sequence. Opaque Paper Technology (OPT) allows cutting costs. Experts are divided on the prospects for further increases in information density; for now, BOOKS with more information simply use more pages.
Each sheet is scanned optically, registering information directly into your brain. A flick of the finger takes you to the next sheet. BOOK may be taken up at any time and used merely by opening it. BOOK never crashes or requires rebooting, though like other display devices it can become unusable if dropped overboard. The “browse” feature allows you to move instantly to any sheet, and move forward or backward as you wish. Many come with an “ index” feature, which pin-points the exact location of any selected information for instant retrieval.
An optional “BOOKmark” accessory allows you to open BOOK to the exact place you left it in a previous session- even if the BOOK had been closed. BOOKmarks fit universal design standards; thus, a single BOOKmark can be used in BOOKs by various manufacturers. Conversely, numerous BOOKmarkers can be used in a single BOOK if the user wants to store numerous views at once. The number is limited only by the number of pages in the BOOK.
You can also make personal notes next to BOOK text entries with an optional programming tool, the Portable Erasable Nib Cryptic Intercommunication Language Stylus (PENCILS). Portable, durable, and affordable, BOOK is being hailed as a precursor of a new entertainment wave. Also, BOOK’s appeal seems so certain that thousands of content creators have committed to the platform and investors are reportedly flocking. Look for a flood of new titles soon.

- from the office of James M.O’Reilly, ESQ. , The Monday Memo, February 9, 1998 Issue No. 60.

Teaching sacrifice to an eight-year-old

In my family, when we turned eight and became official members of the church, we were expected to start fasting on Fast Sunday (although we started slow--just skipping breakfast for the first couple of times, and then lunch, too, etc). Having watched my two older sisters go through this process, I was a little dubious of the benefit of skipping meals. Needless to say, at that young age, I didn't understand the "why" of fasting.

Just before my eighth birthday, my father took me for a walk around our block, just him and me. We talked briefly about my upcoming baptism and confirmation, and then he started to explain about fasting. I don't remember all that he said, but I know that he tried to help me understand the conflict between what my body likes (the natural man) and what God wants me to do (the light of Christ). I seem to remember talking about the body and the spirit, my father using a glove and his hand to help me understand the two parts. He explained that by denying our body certain things (like food), we strengthened our spirit, and made it easier to hear the Holy Ghost. And I remember feeling very grown-up, that my daddy was explaining doctrine to me, and I totallyunderstood it. (Ha!)

I feel pretty certain that this talk was the result of my upcoming baptism and uncertainty regarding fasting, but the help it gave me during my teenage years is immeasurable. Even today, as I contemplate my natural desires (especially laziness and pride), that early lesson still comes back to me. It isn't always logical to deny yourself food, or naps, or entertainments. What works for some people doesn't for others. But I firmly believe that a little sacrifice on our part brings disproportionately large blessings. And I'm grateful to my father for trying to explain this eternal principle to an almost-eight-year-old. Thanks, daddy!

(Cross-posted on PonderIt)

English

Okay, I have always know that I was a terrible speller and this just proves it. Now I know that it is not my fault it is the fault of the English Language. No one can really say that they understand why or how it happened but somehow all reason was lost and because of that we can't spell. I am glad it is not my fault but just the way it is. I vote with LaDale.
Keryn, I have no answers for your dream. Maybe it was just something you ate. Maybe you are pregnant?? Maybe not. That was always when I had that type of dream.
Jenafer, You are right at least Erica didn't use her hands. I think that you are just going to have to put up with some painting on your walls. When we (my mom and dad and Leland and Kaylene and I) moved from the house on Alcoa, my mom found that Kaylene had written her name all along the wall behind the couch. She must have put it there at least 6 years before we moved.
I think that is all of you caught up. I love you all.

Alligator Alley?

It had been raining for hours--maybe even days--when Telima was ready to get into her car and go back home to her husband. She waved to Keryn and darted through the rain to her car, parked in front of Keryn's house. Standing in the front doorway of her house, Keryn watched Telima hurry to the driver's side of the car, fumbling to unlock her door. (cue ominous music)

Just then, in the overflowing gutter beyond the trunk of the car, unexpected movement caught Keryn's eye. To her horror, a huge alligator was slithering rapidly toward Telima. Occupied with the locked door, Telima was oblivious to the danger.

Keryn screamed a warning. Startled, Telima looked behind her and screamed. Moving remarkably quickly for a pregnant woman, Telima raced around the front of the car, darted up the stairs, and into the house. Keryn slammed the door, glimpsing as she did the alligator slithering back into the gutter.

Now what to do? Panting, Telima looked at Keryn, her hair dripping water into her face...

...And then Keryn woke up. Anyone want to translate my dream?

RE: Telima's News

Telima,
I just have to say, my old roommate, now a beautiful mother of a gorgeous little boy, MaryLynn, her mother is very much into MaryKay. She has not only gotten the car, but many a trip all paid for by MaryKay and is now sent all over the country to talk at conventions etc. She only has good things to say about it all. So, good for you!!!! Good luck, as things progress. And I can't wait to find out if it's a boy or a girl!!!

RE: Telima's news

Telima, that is FABULOUS news! How wonderful, especially after how frustrating Wednesday night was. (She invited me to this "Chocolate Affair" thing where a big group of people got together and did facials and ate a lot of chocolate (my favorite, though, was the strawberries). Anyway, Telima had five people planning on coming, and in the two hours before the event, everyone but me cancelled.) Who decided? Anyone I might know? That is such good news.

Hope everyone is having a good weekend. We sure are!

RE: Hear Ye

AYE!

AYE!

AYE!

That's three of the personalities but others are still chiming in so we may have a majority. My computer gets upset with me everytime I try to type Judgement anyway so I should be able the convince the rest of them...

Personally, I think we should all revert to Phonetic English anyway...at least then the Hispanics who want to learn english have a chance...DMT

RE: Hear Ye

AYE!

I will totally support that, LaDale. The English language is just too confusing sometimes...

So, I have exciting news to share! I'm not sure that anyone will really understand what it means, but I'm really excited about it, so I'm sharing. I just signed on my first team member for Mary Kay! What this means is that everything that she sells (or actually, buys from MK to sell) I get 4% commission on. It doesn't come from her pcoket, Mary Kay Corporate sends me a check every month with that 4% commission from the bottomless MK vault. That means extra money that I don't have to really do anything for! I'm really excited about this. It also puts me on track to getting a car for free, with maintenance and repairs paid for and everything. That would be really nice. Anyway, I'm just excited about it and wanted to share with all of you. Have a wonderful day!

P.S. Only 4 more days until we find out the sex of our baby! I'm so excited about that too!!

words and things

keryn it's amazing how these little ones just can form that "n" sound really well without our help. When adam was just a few days old his upset cries were "naaaay".
Kip however has been saying "mom" real well for a little bit now. He doesn't say no, but he shakes his head at you real well. I forgot to warn Aunt Jenafer about that last week when she baby sat them. Communication, it's a funny thing.

Re: Hear ye

AYE

I'll vote for you, LaDale, just put me on the jury.

Keryn,
Serves you right. It just wouldn't be fair with me raising Heather and Erica if Mercy were a perfect Angel!

Yesterday, Erica decided our walls needed decoration. She climbed on the counter to get to our permenate markers, selected a red one and decorated our pantry door and the walls in the front entryway. Then, she moved to the downstairs bathroom. Now, she had already very cleverly put the marker back where she found it for the next time she wanted to use it (she forgot to wipe off the little red fingerprints, though!) so she decited to use the "paint" at hand, Jacob had forgotten to flush. (He does that!) At least she used the toilet brush to apply and didn't fingerpaint, that would have been just TO MUCH! Unfortunatly, I didn't find the downstairs masterpiece until it was dry. I think I spent 45 min scrubbing my walls yesterday with a disinfectant! Jeff decided to take very cute picture of her posing for the camera in order to convince someone to buy her on ebay. I'm not sure it will work.

Benjamin had a concert last night. The third grade sang patriotic songs and french rounds. It was a great success. He is a total ham. They did one song in sign language and he was "performing" more then any other third grader out there!

Lillian is driving me crazy. She does not want a bottle! She will drink if she is starving, and then only 2 ounces at a time and only if I am standing up and walking around with her. Don't ask me why. She has also discovered, to my dismay, that I will nurse in the middle of the night so I don't have to go downstairs and fix a bottle! She is exploiting that knowlage!

RE: Hear ye

AYE!

(It's a good thing Mercy is asleep, though, because I imagine she'd object. Yes, dear family, my daughter has said her first word. (Actually, she said it for the first time on Saturday, but I have been in denial.) When faced with a situation she didn't appreciate (finishing nursing), she told me, "No! No-no-no-no-no!"

Sigh. Ezra's first word was "Amen". Mercy's is "No". Am I in for it with her or what?)

HEAR YE, HEAR YE

Hear ye, hear ye. Come one, come all. Good ladies and gents, let it be known that I, LaDale Tobler, formerly of Las Vegas, Nevada, now of Colorado Springs, Colorado do here by take the word JUDGMENT to task for not conforming to the usual rules of English and for disrupting the writing of my book. I intend to make my case with the help of other words found within the English language, including but not restricted to the following list: pronouncEment, procurEment, amusEment, improvEment, settlEment, amazEment, pavEment, inducEment and measurEment and each of their base and or root words. I will also call to the stand, the root word of judgE where with to make my point. For all those in favor say aye. For all those opposed, I don't want to hear it.

RE. Holidays and spaceships

Hello all well my favorit holiday is halloween Because you get to dress up and eat candy with out being weird or guilty! David likes Christmas best! I took the spaceship quiz and I got on Moya.
bye Amy

Holidays and Misc. stuff

My favorite holiday is probably Christmas, but I think a close second is Easter. I love Christmas for pretty obvious reasons (family, presents, family, decorations, family...). The reasons I love Easter are a bit harder to pin point. I loved it when we were younger and would hunt the house for our baskets. Easter candy is always sooo good. It's right around my birthday usually, so that's a bright point. And it's usually the mark of warmer weather. I like the snow, but I hate the cold and I love it when it starts to warm up in Spring. Easter is usually the bringer of Spring, so I love it. Church is always especially good on Easter Sunday as well. My most memorable holiday? Probably the Fourth of July the summer after I graduated from high school. That was the year that mom and dad were at various different camps (I can't remember which one fell on that day) and LaDale, David, Amy, Skyler, Samuel, Caren, Tyler, and I went up to the mountains for breakfast. Then I spent pretty much the rest of that day with Tyler's family, doing fireworks and all that jazz. It was a fun holiday.

I also just wanted to really quick say that I love Mom's new bedspread! I think it's beautiful and I'm glad that you found one that Daddy approves of. Also, Jenafer, good luck with Lillian! I hope she puts on some weight fast! I love you all!

Re: Holidays

My favorite holiday, hands down, is Christmas. But when I think of my most memorable holiday I have a tough time deciding. Upon further thought, I think the best holiday I ever spent was on my birthday when I opened my apartment door in Provo to find Keryn standing there with Samuel coming up a close second. I LOVED that birthday. It was a total and complete surprise to find my family from Las Vegas just outside my door wishing me Happy Birthday and telling me they loved me!!!

Re: Holidays

My favorite holiday right now would have to be Christmas. This is bacause we have so many decorations and, being a student, a get 2-3 weeks off with no studying to do.

My most memorable holiday is tough. I loved growing up in Nevada and celebrating Nevada Day. This was even nicer because it fell on Halloween, the one day I could dress close to anything I wanted to at school and no one minded, as long as it was decent. I also really like St. Patrick's Day because that was the day I got my mission call and first heard the voice of the woman I now love. So I am torn between the two. Such in life. SKT

Lillian's Doctor Visit

Yesterday, Lillian had her 4 month check up. She is so cute. The doctor said he had never seen a baby open her mouth wide like she did (I just have to tickle her chin and she grins with her whole face!) I asked about the weight thing because of what we went through with Erica, but he said oh no! Look at those cheeks, (they're quite chubby) and so forth. Then he went to chart her weight and suddenly, we have a problem. She is only 10 1/2 pounds. So, she gets to start solid foods, immediately. We are going to continue to try to get her to take formula, but up to now she won't have anything to do with it! We go back in for another weight in in three weeks, if we haven't improved enough, then we will probably be going in for another round of sweat tests!

more pictures

New Bedspread

Most of you know that I bought a new bedspread for our bed. I have been looking for a long time to try to find something that had the teal color of my walls because I didn't want to have to paint again. I finally found one that I like. LaDale and Keryn have both said that I should post pictures on the blog. Here is at least one of them. It is hard to get the full effect but you can see that the teals are the same. There are also bright reds, dark purples, soft golden browns and navy blues. I love it and dad thinks it's okay. By the way my favorite holiday is either Thanksgiving or Christmas because of family getting together. But growing up my favorite holiday was Memorial Day. We used to call it Decoration Day because that was when the family would get together to go to the cemetaries and decorate the graves. I love cemtaries. I think that is where I learned to love them. The family was together and all the cousins were there to play with and everyone was having such a good time. We got to run all over the cemetary (those who have been to Hoytsville Cemetary know that that was not too big an area) and play together all over the farm for the whole day. It was also summer (almost). I have very fond memories of all of that.

new qotw

by the way samuel and i are nebecenezzar too.
Anyway i was just thinking about holidays and such. So the new question of the week is a two parter for those interested.

What is your favorite holiday? What is your most memorable holiday?

The two might be the same or might not be

My favorite is Halloween. Trick or treating, costumes, pillow case full of candy and of course my birthday is the next day as well. Which meant i always got tons of candy on my birthday when i was a kid.

My most memorable has to be Mother's day. {I am lucky to call two wonderful women "mom".} This memory goes back almost 6 years. {to the year 2000} On mothers day weekend i opened the front door to this rather cute and filthy guy holding what used to be a tire that caused a fire on the freeway. Mother's day comes in as a close second favorite holiday for me. Good times!

RE: Quiz

I too, ended up on the Nebecenezzer (is that right)...oh well...at least I have LaDale and Telima to keep me company...

Faith

LaDale, I have been to a few funerals that have left me feeling almost cold about what was not said. I, too, am thankful for the testimony and understanding that I have. It is the only thing that has kept me going lately. I am so thankful that I do have the small glimmer of the next life that is promised in the scriptures. It keeps me from falling apart. I don't know how people can get through the tough times without faith in Jesus Christ.

I just took the spaceship test. I would be on Moya - from Farscape. I have no clue what that is or even what movie it's from. From the little blurb on the test it is full of muppets. I guess that's okay, I like some of the muppets but some would just get on my nerves.

Gratitude

I went to a funeral this weekend. Denise's mother unexpectedly passed away on Valentine's Day. Denise is my visiting teacher and I also visit her as part of my member missionary calling. The funeral was in Craig, Colorado. This little town is about a five hour drive west and north of here, about halfway between Denver and Salt Lake City. I drove up there with three other sisters from the ward on Friday that we might attend the funeral Saturday morning. It was a little more spontaneous than I usually am, but I'd felt like I should go and am glad I did.

Denise's mother was not a member of the church and the funeral was held in a First Congregational Church and presided over by their clergy. Although it was a nice service with beautiful music and many wonderful things said about Margie, I left feeling somehow gypped. Aside from one scripture about mansions on high upon which the minister did not elaborate, not one word, NOT ONE WORD, was said about the after life. Nothing about heaven or paradise or anything, nothing I thought other churches might speak about. It was actually quite sad.

I feel such sweet gratitude to know, TO TRULY KNOW, what happens after this life. It is an understanding and a hope I have often taken for granted. And I begin to wonder if I truly understand how unique I am to have this beautiful assurance in the face of death. Do any of us? And do we thank our Father in Heaven enough for both this testimony and for the Gift of his Son which enables such hope and peace? It makes one feel as the Nephites, doesn't it, when they "went forth, and thrust their hands into his side, and did feel the prints of the nails in his hands and in his feet;..." and cried "out with one accord, saying: Hosanna! Blessed be the name of the Most High God!" (3 Nephi 11:15-17) Hosanna! For I know.

No Devil-May-Care Attitudes Here! (at least not yet!)

So I've noticed that none of us so far have been on the Millenial Falcon. Probably because we aren't cavalier enough. Oh, well. I always did have a bit of a crush on Hans Solo, though, now that I think about it, I'm probably too uptight for him. Kinda like Princess Leia, though. I wonder what their marriage was like?

Welcome aboard!

LaDale, I'm so excited we're on the same ship! We can be confused together! =)

Re: Quiz

Somehow I ended up in SG-1. I liked the movie well enough, but the series was a little wierd for me.

RE: Quiz

I am also a member of the crew from the Nebecenezzer- which I have never even heard of. Oh well, at least I will know one other crew member. Hi, Telima!!! By the way, I loved your new web site. It was great. I especially liked the front page with pictures of you and Tyler. Thanks for sharing it with us.

Quiz and other interesting things

I took the Sci-Fi quiz and it put me on the Nebecenezzer (wow, I can't even spell that! I had to look it up!) from The Matrix. Interesting stuff...=)

Also, if any of you want to see some of the pictures that we took at Christmas, we have them posted on our website: anaconda.byu.edu/~tyler. Keep in mind that the site is a work in progress, but there are lots of pictures on it now. We're still trying to find a scanner that works so we can scan in our ultrasound picture. As soon as we do, I'll try to post it directly here, but it'll definitely get put on our website. And just do no one gets confused, it's Dynamite Smith because we are T'N'T Smith (Tyler and Telima). =) We've had a few people confused by that.

Have a wonderful day and a great President's Day weekend!

Another random quiz

Which sci-fi crew do you fit in with?




Considering I didn't know many of the possible results, I'm happy to say that I fit in with my one of my favorites!

"You have high ideals and know in your heart that humanity will continue to evolve into a better people. Now if only the borg would quit assimilating people."

What about you?

Re: anything and everything

When Keryn called me the other day and said she was worried because I hadn't posted anything in a while, I knew I hadn't, yet when I got on this evening, I realized, it's been longer than I thought. It's been a crazy week. I guess not really too busy, but I've felt like I haven't got as much done as I have hoped day after day after day. But there are a few things I wanted to say.

First: Thank you, thank you thank you all for writing on this site. I've missed my family so much this week. I don't know why, I just have. Sometimes it just happens that way. Anyway, I loved getting on and reading about what is happening in my family's families and it helped sooo much!!! Thank you for taking the time to share with me.

Second: My olympic sport would have to be something with the piano. Something like playing some twenty different pieces of music dating from about 1830 until the present time. But you are only playing each piece in snippets that might last for a few bars or you might have to repeat the entire thing a few times only you don't know until you are playing so you have to keep an eye on the scrip and listening to women who can't seem to get close enough to the microphone so that you can hear them. Oh, and all the music you've been practicing all week wasn't really the music you are going to be playing. That music you only get to see an hour before the program begins but half that time needs to be spent practicing with a barbershop quartet that only has three members. (Hint to help you get by: Don't forget time signatures change with each piece of music!!!)

That was my evening this evening. It wasn't soo bad. I'm learning to just do what has to be done and to not think about how I would rather do it. The Enrichment leader in charge of the evening kept saying, "Oh, most pianist would have been screaming at me by now." Meanwhile, I was thinking in my head, "AAAARRRRGGGGG!!!!!!!"

Adam the smart watch dog{watch boy}

Every one whoever has spent a little time with adam has known that he likes to close doors whenever he sees them open. It doesn't matter where he is. Twice it's happened that i have witnessed him slamming the door on strangers. The first time was a few weeks ago when my parents bed was delivered. There was two delivery men, the first one had followed me in to see where i wanted them to put the bed before he went outside to get it. I had left the door open because the other delivery man was waiting there. Lo and behold when i left to show him where to put the bed adam slammed the front door to the delivery guy outside. We all had a laugh! Second, Last night an 8th grader from a middle school comes knocking to sell coupon booklets for a school fundraiser. I'm not much into doing that but these were some we would definitely use and make good use. So i leave the 8th grader at the door to retrieve the money and Slam!!! It happened again. People are very good sports about this. I also have a very smart kid. Whenever i answer the door he's always at my side. One could argue that it's the sheer curiosity factor on his part,but i like to think of it as"just making sure you are safe mom"

Sitting on stairs

I wasn't fooled about you sitting on the stairs but you were very quiet and I didn't care as long as you were quiet. I knew that you were not always tired at 8:00 or whatever but I needed the peace and quiet more than you needed the rest. I also remember the thrill of "getting away with it". I used to "hide" from my mother to read. I was probably just about out of high school before I realized that she knew where I was all the time but that she also remembered the "thrill" of getting away with it. She remembers hiding from her mother who probably knew where she was. And life goes on.

Two-year-old prayers

Ezra has gotten the whole routine of saying prayers down. We say our family prayer, and then he looks up at me or Brad and says, "Ready?" Sometimes he lets us help him--he know the beginning and the end. Well, last night, he did it all himself. The beginning was clear: "Hef-knee Fadar, Thank thee for...(pause, Mommy starts to help, Ezra plows on)...fife, six, seben, eight...name of Ge-sees Cie-st, AMEN"

Both Brad and I just burst out laughing. He looked at us, and then laughed with us, and when we kept laughing he rolled over on his back, giggling. And then Mercy struck. Ezra had a little bowl of goldfish crackers that he had been protecting throughout his prayer. When he rolled over, quick as a wink, Mercy lunged forward and grabbed a huge handful of the crackers.

We laughed until I had tears rolling down my cheeks. What fun these children are!!!!!

Tobler Olympics

Samuel, were you the one who taught me that "sitting on the stairs past your bedtime" thing? I thought for sure when I did it that I was fooling everyone. Mom, why did you ever let us get away with that, because, like Samuel, I'm sure you knew we were there.

Keryn, I love those events! Especially the Get-ready-for-seminary-in-five-minutes one. I was good at that one in high school! I don't think I could even hope to stay awake for thirty seconds at 5 am anymore, however.

P.S. Mercy is adorable! Can she be my back-up Valentine? =)

Happy Belated Valentine's Day!

RE: Bedtimes

Oh, Samuel, you sure fooled me!

Another thing--remember when it was my night to do dishes, and I'd wait until I heard the garage door opening to start doing them? Like Mema or Daddy would have been fooled into thinking that I'd been working THE WHOLE TIME they'd been gone. Ri-i-i-ght. And that was when I was older! Oh, the shame!

So...I thought of some more Tobler Olympic sports.

1. The shove-dishes-into-dishwasher-as-fast-as-possible relay.
2. The turn-off-light-jump-into-bed-pretend-you're-asleep dash.
3. The get-ready-for-seminary-in-five-minutes scramble.

What do you think?

Re: bedtime

I remember the good old days when I would be on the stairs watching TV past 8pm because I was supposed to be in bed. If anyone came I would run up the stairs thinking I was faster and quieter then anyone else. I am sure that I did not fool anybody. Those were the good old days.

SKT

bedtime

If you will recall, I never tried to have a bedtime at 8:30 for all of you. If was 8:00 until you were in the fourth grade and then it was 9:00. That way I was able to have some peace and quiet by 9:30 at the latest.

Taxes

Well, I just finished our taxes for the year. We efiled our federal returns, but as we owe money to the state, we just printed them to send in in another two months. I'm not paying them before April!

Happy Valentines Day

Happy Valentines Day every one!
Hey Sam I think if you could get a grant to start up the Tobler Olymics that we would need a few more events!
Well I went to the doctors today OBGYN all is fine its a wait and see thing the doctor said I have Indomitryoses (I did not spell that right!) but there is not much they can do for it! awe are doing well and are happy that David is fine! Love you all !

Happy Valentine's Day!

I just want to wish you all a quick Happy Valentine's Day! I love you all!

P.S. Samuel, I would laugh so hard if you actually got someone to give you a government grant for our Olympics!

Re: Olympics

The putting the kids to bed by 8:30 is really tricky. This could be scored similar to diving or gymnastics where there are levels of difficulty that, if mastered, are worth more to the judges. These levels should include the age of the children, how many children there are, do they sleep in the same room, etc. Just a thought.

These Tobler Olympics are really taking shape. Anyone interested in funding this so we can get together and try some out? Maybe I could apply for a government grant to support this. ;)

Love you all. Happy Valentines Day. SKT

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentines Day Everyone.
David, that's great about your test results. I know that I was about to ask my doctor if they could scan my chest while they were doing my annual CT of my liver this year. I think I will still bring it up. Given the family history, it might not be a bad idea anyway.
My kids are very good at the delay at bedtime. I think I get everyone down and the next thing I know, Benjamin needs water and Jacob has to go potty, then Heather needs her blanket wet, (we're trying to phase blanket out) and Erica needs another cup of juice (at least we have finally gotten rid of the bottle!) I'm not sure it's even possible to get all kids in a house in bed and asleep by 8:30!!!

RE: Olympics

I would like it if they had an olympic team for getting all the kids in the house in bed and asleep before 8:30 PM every night. But I must say I like Telima's idea. As for 9/11 I was living on my own three months pregnant and my Mom came to the door and she told me that a plane had hit the world trade center we sat down and watched as the second plane hit and the towers collapsed! I worked at 24 hour fitness and three people came in to work out that day and instead they talked to us about the need to be around people. What I remember most is it felt like strangers became friends and I felt hope for this world in the middle of a tragedy.
Amy

RE: Health Issues

David, you and Amy are definitely in our prayers. I'm so relieved that the CT scan came back normal! That is such a relief. Let Amy know that we think about her often and she is in our prayers. I hope that everything continues to be as good of news as possible for you both.

RE: QOTW

Hmmm...I really have no idea. The thing that comes to mind right now is women who are 8-months pregnant walking across the balance beam that they use for the gymnastics. I don't think I could do that right now, let alone in another three months. (Of course, I'm not sure that I could do that without being pregnant...but that may just be my balance...) However, you'd have to plan very carefully in order to be that pregnant when the Olympics roll around and then there's training (or lack thereof, considering). Throw in another kid or two and that could be really interesting...

I know, I know, it doesn't make much sense. If I come up with anything better, I'll let you know. =)

Health Issues

Health Issues: I am happy to say that the CT scan came back as everything normal...that means the cough and abnormal sound in my lungs is probably just alergies or something along those lines.

Amy has a doctor's appointment tomorrow with an OB/GYN about the strange position of her ovaries (which seem to have been causing her abdominal pain, at least we hope that is all that is causing the pain). They seem to be on the same side of her body and neither one is in the right place at all. The appointment is the rheumatologist isn't till next week so please keep us in your prayers.

Updates to follow as we know what is going on...

RE: QOTW

I think that my Olympic sport would have to be either car-seat weight lifting or putting toys in the toy box faster than my two-year-old and ten-month-old can take them out.

Although hitch-hiking in the Nevada desert has some possibilities. Whaddya think, Telima?

QOTC

Jen, you might have a little more experience with that but I think Amy and I could give you a real run for your money.
While watching the olympics Amy expressed disappointment that Ballroom Dancing isn't part of the Olympics. (We are addicted to "Dancing with the Stars") I'm sure that is what Amy would choose. As for me...I think I would do well in Parent/Child Wrestling where one parent has to tickle a minimum of 3 children into submission simulataneously. (The children can be no older than 6 so they can keep that boundless energy.
As for 9/11 I came downstairs to get breakfast and saw Mom in front of the TV. That was something of a shock for me since it was abt 6 AM and Mom never gets up that early. Before too long I had to go to Institute where we discussed the evens with Uncle Steve and then I went to work at Mercury where we had a small TV set up and we watched the Towers collapse.
I'm still working on Disney/Cartoon bit...

Re: QOTW

I have decided that I would take home the gold for the Naked, Wet Two Year Old Catch!

qotw "The Tobler Family Olympic Sports"

I thought of my latest question while Samuel and i were watching olympics and discussing this that and the other. I turned randomly to him after he said something and i said "Brilliant!!!!" Coincidentally it went along with what he was talking about, which i was side tracked from in my thinking. We had a good laugh as i explained my new thought for the question of the week.

Here goes
If you could make anything into an olympic sport what would it be?

My sport would be making up dances to television show theme songs. {for example the CSI dance}

Samuel said his would be synchronized diaper changing.
Have fun!

Oops

Samuel, I sorry, I goofed. You did go to Red Rock for first grade. That's what happens when you get old. You forget everything. Next I will forget who all of you are.

Samuel

Hey, believe it or not, everyone who went to Red Rock for kindergarden, except LaDale, had Ms. Brewer. So, I know she was the kindergarden teacher. Also, My friend, Tammy, has children in Red Rock, and her oldest, he's 11, had Ms. Brewer, too!

RE: Stuff that has been discussed and will be discussed again

G'Day y'all,

First, it was not Caren who wrote the explanation to the most recent puzzle. I had read it and posted my comment before Caren read it. Sorry.

Second, I attending Red Rock Elementary school for kindergarten and first grade. I was at Doris Reed from 2nd until 5th. My teachers at Red Rock were Ms. Brown and Ms. Brewer, although I do not remember which one taught me first and which kindy. Ms. Burch was my second teacher and that is why I still remember all their names, they all started with B. Imagine my disappointment when I got Ms. Rye for 3rd grade. Oh well. I do remember walking home with David, who was in fourth grade at Doris Reed, to our home while it was still under construction.

As for 9-11, I was going to sleep on the Gold Coast. My companion was on the phone with a member from a different area and told me the world trade center was hit by a plane. This was P-Day eve, the night before P-Day. I imagined a small 2 person private plane. Much to my surprize when I woke the next day with a phone call from my zone leader telling us we had to stay inside our flat, apartment, until further notice. Our mission president was at a conference with all the other mission presidents in Australia/ New Zealand and was making regular reports to his AP's who then relayed to the ZL's who then called us. President came home as soon as he could and we were told the following: we had to stay dress in a tie and white shirt; we were to stay away from "American establishments," McDonalds, KFC, etc.; and we were to pray. So I did something I probably should not have done and went to the corner store to buy a paper. We then spent the remainder of our P-Day at a member's house watching the news. That was were I was.

My favorite cartoon/Disney character is Stitch. Need I say more. I do think Adam also likes him but he still enjoyed Pocohantas while in Vegas.

Love you all. SKT

RE: QOTW

My favorite Disney cartoon character is probably Winnie-the-Pooh, followed very closely by Dory, the short-term memory challenged fish (Finding Nemo), and Boo, the cutest little cartoon girl I have ever seen (Monsters, Inc.)! But I love Winnie-the-Pooh. The old song is my favorite (tubby little cubby all stuffed with fluff-he's...). The new song just isn't nearly as nifty. As for non-cartoon Disney, I would have to pick Bert from Mary Poppins. I love him! He's so much fun. And non-Disney cartoons....um....how about Pinky and the Brain from Animaniacs? Or rather, Pinky (NARF!). I loved that show growing up. Those would have to be my favorites.

Random melange of stuff

I've been giving the QOTW far too much thought...my favorite Disney/cartoon character? If you say "favorite Disney cartoon character", I would have to say either Sebastain the crab or Belle or Elasta-girl (Helen Parr). If you say "favorite Disney ORcartoon character, then you have to consider both non-cartoon Disney characters AND non-Disney cartoon characters. So then the answer would have to include Swamp Fox (Francis Marion) and the Scarecrow, AND Pablo, Tyrone, Uniqua, Tasha, and Austin from the Backyardigans. So you see that it is a very complicated question!

Some funny things I've noticed my kids doing in the last couple of days/weeks: Mercy is getting almost too old for nursing (in my opinion), because she is starting to tug and pull at the proper place when she's hungry. I pretty much draw the line when the baby can ASK for the food, and she's getting perilously close to that. I'm trying to hold out for her first birthday so that she can switch directly to whole milk instead of the more expensive formula. But when she gets what she wants...her distressed whimpers take a distinctly triumphant tone right before she latches on. It makes me laugh.

Ezra is...well, two. Although I'm not ready to auction him off quite yet. It helps not to have a passel of other kids to deal with, too. He's learning to use the potty, and yesterday as he was sitting on his little toilet, he reached out and grabbed some magazines we had in a drawer in the bathroom and began to "read" them. He finished paging through one of them, closed it, and looked up to me: "That was a good book, Mom!" He's managed to actually use the potty twice now, and he got two strawberries (he calls them "apple-grapes". Maybe because they are red and small?) for a reward.

The other funny thing Ezra does has to do with his growing desire for control. When faced with something he doesn't want to do (like get his diaper changed, clean up his toys, etc), he plops down on the floor (on a pillow if available) and says, "I go to sleep, Mom. I go to sleep!" Of course, if you ask him if he wants to go to bed, it's an instant "NO BED!" and he hops up. But still it amuses me.

Life is fun and busy here--I'm still a-working on the thesis. We love our ward and our town and our little house and our family. And our internet connection!

RE: QOTW

Favorite Disney characters- That's a tough one. I've been thinking about it and I have several, in different categories.

*My favorite heroine is Belle. I loved when Beauty and the Beast came out. I was quite a bit older, I mean for your typical Disney audience- but I went to see it twice in the theatre, once with my sisters (if I remember correctly) and once with a friend
*My favorite comic relief characters are the Vultures in The Jungle Book. "What do you want to do?" " I don't know. What do you want to do?"
*My favorite hero is Robin Hood. Even though he is a fox (I mean literally not physically)- I always though he was the best; always looking our for others and being concerned about their needs, but always having fun doing it. And he always treated Maid Marian with the utmost consideration. I loved that.
*My favorite wise giver of advise that many disney moves have is Rafiki from The Lion King. I love his laugh and I the part where he smacks Simba on the head.
*My favorite villain is Maleficent from The Sleeping Beauty. I was more scared of her than all the other villians put together.
***Finally, I have to put a plug in for Pacha's wife in The Emperor's New Groove. I love her part in the story: very pregnant and ready to take on the world for her family.

Catching up!!

My favorite Disney character is Flower from Bambi. I always wanted a skunk of my own and I was just sure that one day I would get one. Bambi's friend Flower was just what my imagination always believed about skunks. They were shy, quiet, and very friendly but didn't want to stink up things it was only when they were scared that they did that. I want you to know that I almost had one as a pet. If they had been old enough to have the sprayer mechanism removed I would have had one. But instead I ended up with a cat and it was just the first of many of those.

I was at home for both Pep-Con and 9/11 (I'm sure you are shocked by that). Samuel you were in Kindergarten because we had not moved yet and you went to Doris Reed for all of 1st grade. You don't remember it because you used to come home from school and take a nap. So both you and Telima were napping. I heard the boom and went outside to see if I could see anything. I couldn't and so I turned on the TV and got the news. I went outside again and this time I could see the cloud. LaDale your teacher was nuts. How in the world could you come all the home without breathing. That was a stupid thing to say and I am glad that you were smarter in this than he/she was.

I was alseep and Dad came in and woke me up to say that we were being attacked. I didn't believe him at first. I had to come down the stairs to watch TV to believe it. We both watch for a few minutes and then Dad went to work and I continued to watch TV. I remember calling Keryn to see how she was doing. I don't remember calling anyone else but I do remember Jenafer calling me. That's all I remember.

The answer to the question was explained very well by Caren. The answer that Dad was given just said that you have to think of it in a different way. Great answer!

I'm glad that David and Amy are on now. I hope to hear more from them soon.

We are just relieved that we don't have to go to the doctor for 3 months and that feels very, very good.

Erica and UPS

I don't think ups accepts live shippments, sorry. You are, however, more then welcome to rent her for a week. In fact, I can give you a great discount on a package deal with any or all of my other children!
I've been thinking about my favorite cartoon/disney character. The disney one is easy, I have always liked Donald Duck. Although, if the disney people were marketing their disney princess package when we were children, I would have been a princess the same as my girls are. As for my favorite all time cartoon character, I still need to think a bit on that.

Re: Two Year Old For Sale

Jenafer,
I'm not willing to buy little Erica- But I'd love to rent her for a week. Do you think she'll travel UPS?
LaDale

Prophet cartoon

I'll be back to answer the QOTW, but I had to share this with you.

You know all the riots and unrest because of the cartoons of the prophet Mohommand?

Check this one out!

new qotw

I was just thinking yesterday that I need to put pictures of cartoon/disney characters up in the boys room for more decoration {inexpensive ofc}. That means i need to draw. I was thinking yesterday that i should ask everyone what their favorite characters are to get ideas. I then got on the family blog this morning because Samuel asked me if i had read yesterday's entries. I read all this about pooh and i thought that should definitely be the new qotw.

What is your favorite cartoon/disney character? Feel free to name more than one if you like.

During quite a few of my teen years it was pooh and curious george {but my nick name was always carebear}. Actually up until the no multiple piercings and no tattoos thing, I was actually going to get a tattoo of curious george put on my shoulder blade. But alas, I only have the care bear on my lower back and that is all.

Oops

I knew Rumbly in my Tummy didn't sound right! I just couldn't think of what it actually was...thank you for the correction, Jenafer. =) And Keryn, I'm sure that the part of the rumbly was the baby, but I can't tell the difference between the baby and regular hunger pains right now...I'm sure I will be able to later, but it's still a little too early for me.

A 2-year-old for sale! Just what I always wanted! Hmmm...too bad I just don't have the money to take her on...Oh well. Give me two years and I'll have my own! Sorry, Jenafer. I'll have to pass on yours. =)

2 year old for sale!

Does anyone want a two year old. We have one we are willing to give away. She is cute and small and dosn't eat huge amounts. She has a cute grin and giggles quite well. However, she screams when she dosn't get her way and gets into everthing not locked up.
Today, I had the construction people over looking at what needs to be fixed in the house. After I locked the door behind them, I heard a noise coming from the theater room. It was Erica. She was very carefully taking down all of the tape that I had put up the day before in anticipation of painting this weekend. I now have to retape half the room. I especially wanted to give her away when she was wrestling with me over a box of crayons yelling MINE! at the top of her lungs, over and over and over and over again.
So, we have a 2 year old on the market, does anyone want to start a bidding war?

RE: Telima

Hey, Telima, are you sure the rumbly in your tumbly isn't, well, A BABY?

Just wondering!

Did you know that Eeyore likes his tail because he is "sort of attached to it"? HA!

I'm a little silly right now. Not that it's any different from most days.

Telima

Sorry, hon, the song is not actually "Rumbly in my Tummy" it's "Rumbly in my Tumbly"
I watch WAYYYYYYYYYY to much Pooh Bear!

RE: Good News

Yay!! I just needed to add my two cents there. =)

And as for Winnie-the-Pooh...I loved the VHS tapes we had when I was little, but I don't remember much about records. The tape, though, had the "Rumbly in my Tummy" song and I'm definitely feeling a rumbly in my tummy right now. So I'm going to go eat! Have a wonderful day, everyone!

About good news!!

This is what I have to say about the news we received yesterday- from the mouth of others:

The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis. Chapter sixteen. Tenth paragraph. First sentence.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowlings. Chapter One. Page 10 of the hardback book. Eighth paragraph on that page. Second sentence.

Heckedy Peg by Audrey Wood. Twenty-eighth page or fourth from the end. Only sentence. Add 'and their father' before the comma.

The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn. Last sentence of the entire book.

And there you have it!!! Have fun at the library.

re: Winnie the Pooh

Yes, I believe we had that record. We also had Annie and Strawberry Shortcake and the Great Bakery Cookoff. (That one was MINE, I got it for my birthday.) I remember twirlling around to Annie. We used to have a contest to see who could twirl for a whole song. We would pile up the cushions off of the brown couch around us so that when we fell down (and we would inevitably fall down) we would not fall directly on the floor.

RE: Traffic

Dude, Samuel. What a pain! I hope hope hope it doesn't take you that long to GET home. Yuck.

Sometimes my commute is pretty bad, too. When Ezra blocks the stairs or the gate is up in the kitchen doorway...whoa. So I feel your pain, Samuel.

(ducking the pillows being thrown in my direction...)

Winnie the Pooh

Did we have a record of "The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh"? We checked out the tape from the library and all the songs are SO familiar, in a twilight-y, distant-y sort of way. The words, stories, and cartoon pictures are not.

And were the illustrators and composers high on something when they did the "Huffalumps and Woozles" song? My goodness. It's sort of the same as "Pink Elephants" in Dumbo.

And...yay yay yay for good news about Daddy! Hooray!

Traffic

Traffic can be a pain in the neck, at times. As most if not all of you know, Caren and I live about an hour away from ASU campus, assuming no traffic. Even during rush hour the commute is about 1 hour 15-20 minutes for me, and that is not using the carpool lane. You all probably know that there is a lot of construction happening on a road near our house. This construction single-handedly made my compute this morning 2 1/2 hours. The first 5 minutes, usually gets me from my house to the first street light, which I might add used to be a stop sign about 2 weeks ago. Due to construction this morning, and I assume all night, the street sign was blinking, therefore acting as a 4-way stop. I assume this action was done during the night time to help the working have slow moving traffic while they are working. But they didn't turn it off when the rush of cars started to come. Now this would be fine except that the majority of the community around us has apparently discovered over the last 2 weeks that the new street light is a very fast way to get to town. The blinking lights this morning made the worst back-up I have ever seen in the few months we have lived here. I was at that one light for over an hour. On a normal morning I would be finding a parking spot on campus by then. Not this morning. What usually takes the first 5 minutes turned into an hour. WOW. If road construction didn't help make the roads better, I would try to make it illegal.

Re: 9-11

i was in lubbock texas knocking on doors with my two companions. When some man informed us that he was a day sleeper {like we took notes on every door we knocked}. He then re opened his door when were about to knock next door and said "just thought you should know we are under attack the twin towers have gone down" . My companions just thought whatever but then I peeked in the door of the next place that opened to us and saw that the tv was on and it was on the news. Missionaries that were en route to south america and other missions from the mtc, were put up by our mission president{our mission} until they could get to where they were called to go. Local new casters that were in the airport in dallas/fortworth had made comment about the group of missionaries who had kneeled down to pray in the airport. Gas stations were crowded that day.

Sorry...mix-up

Samuel, you're right. I was in 11th grade. Not 10th. And I even thought about it for a loooong time before I put down 10th. Oh well. It probably is the pregnancy. =)

RE: Physics?

Are you kidding me? I was in twelfth grade physics!!??!! and grateful I passed. Well, okay, passing wasn't ever really in question, but I can't say I enjoyed it- too much math. Good think there are people like Samuel around or we'd never get any bridges built.

I was in the eight grade when Pepcon blew although, we were far enough away at Brinley not to have felt anything. I remember it was at the end of the day and we were getting ready to go home and the teachers were trying to tell us something had happened and to not breath the air as we walked home. To this day I don't understand what kind of help that was. If one of us had suffocated on our way home, could the school have been sued for telling us not to breath? They showed us how to cup our hands over our mouths but even that seemed pointless. If the particles of whatever poison was suppose to be in the air were small enough not to be seen, they were definitely small enough to fit between my fingers. If I remember correctly, I did not bother covering my mouth nor, as my continued living status proves, the not breathing part.

Oh, and about lip stick names. I found some great names, like blizzard blue, or tropical rain forest, or dandelion, but in the end I wondered if I really wanted blue or green or yellow lips. How about fuzzy wuzzy brown?

And finally, welcome to the wonderful David and Amy Tobler family. I am so excited to hear what is happening in your lives and hearing (or reading) your responses to our wonderful questions of the week.

RE: Physics

Maybe it's the pregnancy, or maybe it's just you crazy brother.

Samuel, are you pregnant? Congrats!

As for Pep Con (Pepcon? Pep-con?), I was in Mr. Andrews fifth grade class at Red Rock Elementary. Our classroom was at the very end of the last wing of classrooms (all outside doors), and we looked east. There was a huge BOOM that shook the glass in the window, and Mr. Andrews looked outside and called us all to look. He said, "That looks like it's coming from McCarren Airport. And it sort of looks like a mushroom cloud." Thanks, Mr. Andrews! I had just read a story in the Reader's Digest about terrorists (Iran-Iraq, Libya, etc) earlier that month. No wonder I went home with an anxiety attack later.

As for 9/11, I was asleep in our new apartment--it was just over a month before we got married. Emily called and woke me to tell me to turn on the TV. After I figured out what was going on, I called Kim's house, because that is where Brad was staying. They hadn't heard, and I didn't articulate well enough to get the point across right away. Anyway, I spent the rest of the day watching CNN in the basement of the Eyring Science Center Geology media room, except the special prayer devotional we had at eleven instead of the regularly scheduled devotional.

I am glad to see you back, Jenafer!

Physics?

Telima, did you really take physics in 10th grade? So if you did then great but I would have thought you would have been in 11th grade. Maybe it's the pregnancy, or maybe it's just you crazy brother.

As for pep con, (soda pop?) If Jenafer was in 6th grade that sounds like we had not moved yet so I'm guessing I was in kindergarden or 1st grade. Either way, I don't remember it at all. Love you tons.

It sure was great to be a kid and have little to no worries with wonderful parents like ours.

Welcome, welcome, and welcome back!

I'm so excited that Amy and David have joined us! Welcome, welcome! I'm so sorry about all the health problems you've been having, but you are constantly in our prayers. And welcome back to Jenafer! I'm glad that your cable got installed fairly quickly. I have to agree with Keryn in that I miss everyone (except Keryn, Brad, Ezra, and Mercy). If I miss them, I can just go visit.

As for Pep Con...again, I have no memory of it. But I do remember learning about where my 10th grade Physics teacher was. He was working in a building that was close enough to the explosion that all the windows were blown out. Scary thought. Anyway, so, once again, I was too young to really remember or know where I was. All the exciting stuff happened before I was aware of what was going on in the world...oh well.

I love you all!

Cable's in

Well, today, the cable man came and installed my internet. Hooray!!
I just want to go back and talk about the Challenger. I was actually watching the live feed when it happened. As for 9/11, I was asleep when my mother in law called and woke me up to tell me it had happened. As for how it affected my life, there were no cartoons on that day, even nick and disney were doing news coverage, so mostly it annoyed my that I had nothing to enertain my little children with. Jacob was just one day under one month old when it happened. I do have another where were you question, for those of us from Vegas. Pep Con. Where were you when it exploded? I was at lunch on the playground at Matt Kelly Sixth Grade Center.

Forty-one

That's how many spoonfuls of pureed pears are in a bottle of Mercy's baby food.

Just thought you'd all like to know.

And...welcome, David and Amy! Hooray! We're so glad you've joined us!

It's good that Skyler hasn't pulled anymore fire alarms. That's one talent he can NOT develop!

I miss you all! I was talking with LaDale about the Arizona kids and all of a sudden I just missed everyone. (Well, except Telima and Tyler. I love that I get to see them so often!) You are all in my thoughts and prayers, especially David and Amy's family. We love you!

Hi All

Hey All So it took us forever but we got on to the blog!
Ok Skyler happy to say has not pulled any firealarms lately!
Ephram is sick but he will be back to normal soon. Arabella is huge she is sitting up sooo cute.
David and I have been having some health difficulties. Recently I found out that I have Fibermialga And have tested positive for a amunsystem disorder the early diagnosis is I have Lupus,I am going to a rumatoligist to confirm. David has a bad cough and is going in for a CT scan On tuesday . WE love you all and will talk to you soon.
Love Amy And David Tobler

Memory fun

Today I participated in a primary activity on missionaries. They had several of us that served missions come and talk about our experiences. It was fantastic, but I realized I had some work to do in my missionary box. It was a mess, letters, pictures etc. everywhere. So I spent another part of today going through and sorting all the letters I received from my family. I found something Telima sent me that she had to prepare for school. It was called Telima Tobler all about me?! The subtitle was This is a sneak-peak into the life of Telima Tobler. I just wanted to share one section about her. I hope she doesn't mind. In the section called The Future. She says, "I don't have a lot planned for the future, yet, but I do know two things: 1. I'm going to go to collage to become a 3rd grade teacher. 2.I'm going to get married and have at least 3 children. That's what I know." (I recorded all spelling exactly as Telima wrote it). Now, although I don't see her becoming a third grade teacher soon- she's certainly on her way for those three children. Love you Telima! Thanks for sending that to me years and years ago.
LaDale

Mom's back

Okay, so I thought about trying to take a picture of my back but I couldn't get my arm around that far. I am sooo thankful that you are all doing as well as you are. We are fine at the moment but Dad is feeling some pain in his hip and we will be finding out what to do about that next week.
About the lipstick.. I have been thinking and thinking and so far nothing. Maybe Pucker-up pink or something like that.

Here is the next puzzle (I found the paper):

Three people check into a hotel. They pay $30 to the manager and go to their room. The manager suddenly remenbers that the room rate is $25 and gives $5 to the bellboy to return to the people. On the way to the room the bellboy reasons that $5 would be difficult to share among three people so he pockets $2 and gives $1 to each person. Now each person paid $9, totaling $27. The bellboy has $2, totaling $29. Where is the missing $1.

I know the answer to this one and I'm guessing that you do too but here it is.

Happy Groundhog's Day

Happy Groundhog's Day

Doctors and Babies

So, I went to my second doctor's appointment today...what a difference it was to my last visit. At my first appointment, I was on time and yet waited in the lounge for nearly an hour before they called me back. The office was so backed up because two of the three doctors had been called away for an emergency C-section. That only left my doctor, Dr. Gordon, there to take care of business...for everyone. This time, I came prepared...I picked up a good book before leaving the house, arrived about ten minutes early, and sat down to wait for my turn. I was only one page into Cimmorene's story when they called my name. I was shocked. I don't even think it was ten o'clock yet. So, I stood up, went into the back and did the whole blood pressure, weight, etc. stuff that they do before every visit. Then I went back into the waiting room, content to wait for a half hour before being called in to see the doctor. Imagine my surprise when instead I was called not three minutes later!

Now, I have to say, I had no idea what to expect from this visit. My first one was "Let's check everything out" and they did. This time, Dr. Gordon checked the heartbeat of the baby, answered some questions, and that was it. He wrote me a prescription for anti-nausea pills (which I'm so excited about...) and that was the end of it. I twas so short. I couldn't believe how fast it was compared to my last visit. He had me go back to make my next appointment for an ultrasound. Are you all ready? Feb 28 at 10:00 we'll be going in to find out the sex of our baby! I'm so excited. Anyway, I just wanted to share the exciting news. =) I love you all!

QOTW

My mind's on babies today because I had my second doctor's appointment this morning. So, for my lipstick, I think I would have to call it Baby Pink. (I was going to put Baby Blue, but....well, blue lipstick?)

Caren, I'm so glad you posted a QOTW! I've missed them! =)

RE: QOTW

This one is easy for me. "Hooker Red" It was what my sophomore roommates and I would call any shade of bright red lipstick.

Can you imagine a line of lipsticks called "Terrible blasphemies" and "Hooker Red"? That would be so great. I don't even wear lipstick, and I would buy it.

Jenafer reports that all is (mostly) well with the move. They never did come re-clean her house. Nor have they fixed all the problems. But she is soldiering ahead anyway. They are all the way out of the old house, and that's all done. Now she just is trying to make her way through boxes upon boxes upon boxes. But she's really happy to be in.

It looks like she will be online by Sunday, as there are some residents in her new neighborhood who NEED the Super Bowl. So the cable should be up by then.

A pot of gold at the end of a rainbow

I found this picture on the web site of our local news station. It took a second glance before I realized I had to share it. Some pot of gold, isn't it.

new qotw

I haven't posted in a while the question. But the latest is actually inspired by Telima and her comment about selling lipstick.

I think it's very cool and the most ideal for a pregnant woman to not have to worry about working outside the home.
Anyway, my question of the week is if you could create a name for a lipstick what would it be?

The name i would pick is probably one of my favorite sayings of all time, so of course i have to name something for it.
"terrible blasphemies!"

have fun with it

The Government pulls through in the end!

Yes, that's right! Everything is all good, now. I went and talked with Ed Jenkins again this morning. He looked at all the information we had for December and told me he was going to qualify me for Medicaid. Every month now I will receive a Medicaid card that is good for that month only. I'm actually going to be getting one for December, January, and February (though I don't know what good the December and January ones will do me). Now I can break my arm, get any type of flu or cold, and (perhaps the coolest part) go to the dentist and get my teeth cleaned...all without paying a dime. Ahhh, the benefits of being poor. (And thank goodness we were poor enough...we almost didn't make it!) Anyway, I just wanted to let you all know that we're covered now. Thank you for your prayers.

Mormon Postcards from Buster

Have you heard of "Postcards from Buster"? It's a PBS Kids show about a bunny-kid who travels around the country and visits other kids. Today's episode is from Salt Lake City, Utah. Buster visits with a Mormon family, and has FHE with them and all. I wrote a little about it on our religion blog, PonderIt.